


you've got a friend in me

by commanderofraccoons



Category: Mean Girls (2004), Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: F/F, Flashbacks, Unbeta'd, because there wasn't nearly enough content of them as kids and best friends, childhood best friends, sorry about the ending, this made me realize i can't write children talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 09:44:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16261655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commanderofraccoons/pseuds/commanderofraccoons
Summary: Regina winced at her own hands and stood up to her feet, grass stains evident on her bony knees. She reached out a hand to Janis to pull her up, the wet concrete caking the crevices of their fingers.“Yeah, but we might need a bath first. I think we’re stuck together again.”orCady finds Janis and Regina's childhood handprints on both of their driveways.





	you've got a friend in me

**Author's Note:**

> "Love is like standing in wet cement. The longer you stay, the harder to leave, and you can never leave without leaving your marks behind." 
> 
> ~Unknown

_It wasn’t that Janis didn’t like pink. It’s that Regina happened to like it more— and if Regina wanted a pink towel to wipe wet concrete off from their hands, then Janis would deal with it._

 

_“Mommy said she’d help after if we don’t get all the slime off.” Regina pouted and shook her head, blonde pigtails flying in every direction as she scrubbed Janis’s right hand._

 

_“We already got our hands stuck together, Regina,” Janis mumbled softly. “Your mommy also said not to step in the wet concrete,” she added, nervously eyeing Regina’s inching Mary Janes._

 

_“Your driveway’ll be fine.” Regina rolled her eyes but still moved her legs away._

 

_Their relationship was a strange one. Regina wasn’t always nice to the other children their age, but she tended to have a soft spot for Janis. They’d essentially known each other from birth, since their mothers happened to be best friends from college themselves. Their pregnancies coincided with each other, and it seemed their daughters hadn’t missed a moment of the other’s life since._

 

_“We go to your house next, right?” Janis asked, gently pushing the ruined pink towel away and dropping her stained hand to her lap. “I don’t know why your daddy did this the same day. We’ll have to hurry there so we can write our names in yours too.”_

 

_Regina winced at her own hands and stood up to her feet, grass stains evident on her bony knees. She reached out a hand to Janis to pull her up, the wet concrete caking the crevices of their fingers._

 

_“Yeah, but we might need a bath first. I think we’re stuck together again.”_

  


* * *

 

 

Cady’s white skirts from her costume had seen better days. The bottom was half shredded and coated in black, and there were streaks of dirt up to the top of her calves. Her first Halloween in America obviously hadn’t gone as planned— there were still too many things she didn’t understand, and Regina had lied through her teeth. Janis had warned her, of course, but Cady hadn’t deemed her credible on the topic of Regina George until about an hour ago.

 

After hearing Regina’s take on eighth grade, Cady wasn’t exactly sure what Janis’s motives were. The story didn’t exactly add up at first, but Damian’s addition to it seemed to clear a few things up.

 

So the new revenge plan was almost set in stone now. Cady was sitting on the curb of Janis’s driveway, dressed as an extremely haggard zombie bride. She could hear Janis and Damian’s voices from inside of the garage, where they were still likely bickering over who got to use the last piece of chalk. They’d thrown some ideas at each other, all of Damian’s being a bit on the drastic side, but Janis had mapped out the basics on her chalkboard for both of them to see.

 

Starting Monday, Cady Heron would be taking down Regina George.

 

Janis’s house was at the very end of a cul-de-sac, and it seemed the slow-approaching car shining their lights on the house didn’t exactly know where they were. Cady flinched at the light and held out a hand in front of her face to block it. Her gaze fell to a corner of the driveway near the curb, and she froze. Keeping her arm held out in front of her to avoid the headlights, she squinted and moved further down the curb to see the imprint.

 

_Regina and Janis_

_6/14/2006_

_Best Friends Forever_

 

Cady blinked, slightly taken aback. Of course she knew the two had been close in middle school, but she didn’t know it stemmed back further than that. Above their names were two tiny hand imprints, obviously the handiwork of children. The writing wasn’t very neat, but Janis’s name looked like the girl had her impressive artistic talent even then— the rest of it most likely having been written by a small Regina.

 

Her phone was in her lap, lock screen set as a picture of she and Aaron making faces at the camera in Calculus. She swiped up with her free hand, hit the flash option, and secretly captured the little moment with a new picture.

 

The door to Janis’s garage opened suddenly, and Cady snapped her head away from her new discovery. Janis, still donning her Maleficent horns, was confusedly staring at the sitting vehicle in the middle of the road.

 

“Oh, wait, is that your ride?”

 

It took Cady half a minute to realize Janis was speaking to her and an even longer time to answer. At least it did if Janis’s face was anything to go by. “What? Oh, no, they just pulled up like that a few minutes ago. I’m still waiting on my mom.”

 

Janis frowned for a minute, most likely about to offer Damian’s grandmother’s jazzy as her ride yet again. She glanced up at the large vehicle in the road— lights still glaring on the front of her house— made an obscene gesture in their direction, and slammed the garage door shut behind her.

 

Cady blinked and watched the white vehicle circle the cul-de-sac before it sped away.

 

She could’ve sworn it was Regina’s white BMW.

* * *

 

 

_“Hold her still, Jan.”_

 

_“She’s_ one. _Kylie doesn’t know how to do that.”_

 

_Regina was sitting in the grass beside her sprawling driveway, watching Janis struggle to carry Regina’s baby sister toward her. Kylie was fighting tooth and nail to be put down, and Regina couldn’t help but smile at the image of Janis’s face of concentration, tip of her tongue stuck out between her lips._

 

_“Your mommy said Kylie had to put her hand in it too. Please help me.” Janis pouted slightly, removing an energetic Kylie’s hand from the inside of her jacket._

 

_“It’s funnier over here.”_

 

_Janis stopped walking, lip jutting out to form a real pout._

 

_Regina rolled her eyes good-humoredly and reached out her hands to grab onto her squirming sister. Janis quickly leaned down to pass her over to a sitting Regina._

 

_“Just give me your hand. Then you can go back to mommy.”_

 

_Kylie seemed to comply at the mention of their mother and made a soft noise in the back of her throat as she offered up her small toddler hand. Regina, gently grabbing onto it, motioned to Janis with a nod of her head to help her. Janis sat herself down next to her and held onto the tops of Kylie’s pinky and ring fingers as Regina finally pressed it against the wet cement._

 

_Kylie let out a loud cry at the strange contact and accidentally kicked her leg into Regina’s stomach. “Up! Up!” Regina winced, and Janis immediately pulled her off her sister._

 

_The pink towel from earlier was in the grass beside them, and Janis used it to dry off Kylie’s sticky hand before she could protest further. She eyed Regina, who was now sitting on her knees and holding her stomach with her right hand._

 

_“Is your tummy gonna be okay?”_

 

_Regina sat staring at their handprints in the driveway for a moment before she looked back up at Janis. She nodded and lightly patted the front of her shirt before dropping her hand. “Yeah, she didn’t mean to. She’s too little to hurt me anyway.”_

 

_Janis wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that, but Kylie seemed much more content after having her hand dried. Her arms were now wrapped around the back of Janis’s neck, pulling a bit on some strands of her hair._

 

_“She probably won’t write her name, huh?”_

 

_“What?”_

 

_“Next to her hand. My mommy told us to make sure she put her hand down and then help her write her name just like we did.”_

 

_Janis glanced down at Kylie, whose eyes were now shut and mouth wide open on Janis’s shoulder. There would probably be some drool there later if she stayed like that much longer. “Too much excitement for her, I think.”_

 

_Regina frowned, eyeing her now half asleep sister. “Well, can’t you pretend to write like a baby, Jan? You’re the best writer in our class.”_

 

_Janis could feel her face heat up at the compliment. Regina didn’t exactly throw them around too often, but they always stuck with her when she did._

 

_“Fine, but can you take her back, please? I think some of my hair’s in her mouth.”_

 

 

* * *

 

 

Cady’s been in an array of panic all weekend. Janis obviously didn’t know it was Regina’s car outside of her house, or else she’d be panicking with her. The headlights had been shining directly on Cady, and that had to mean she would’ve seen her sitting in Janis’s driveway after the Halloween party; she was even still in her costume from earlier. If it really were Regina driving by, then Cady had a lot to answer for, and maybe their revenge plan would never get to take place. She’d considered telling Janis about it, but the girl would probably just call her paranoid.

 

It brought Cady back to the last picture in her phone. Why would Regina be going to Janis’s house in the first place, let alone stopping in front of it for several minutes? Was there more depth to their past than Cady knew about, or was she simply digging too deep? The handprints flashed in her mind for the dozenth time that morning as Cady tried to bring herself back to the present.

 

These thoughts were hammering Cady’s head throughout the entire Monday school day. Today was the start of their revenge plot, and the only real thing she’d done was hug Gretchen and ask if she could still sit at their lunch table. The girl had anxiously agreed, and Cady spent the majority of the day analyzing both Regina and Janis. They never interacted, but Cady witnessed a few interesting glances from both parties. Regina also showed no sign of knowing she was at Janis’s this weekend, and though she could be playing it sneakily, Cady decided it’s possible it might not have actually been her. That thought helps her breathe a little easier at the very least.

 

Now, however, they were back at Regina’s house, and Cady knew this would be the best place to get her needed information. Janis had told her to figure out certain things, but she was having trouble focusing on any of them. Regina’s mother had greeted them as usual, sending an unusual look Cady’s way the moment she walked through the door, and her anxiousness had only mounted from there.

 

Regina had immediately asked Karen to file her nails, while Gretchen waited to the side for any sort of task to do. Cady hadn’t stayed in her room long enough to hear Regina rip Gretchen a new one, making up some excuse about having to call her mother.

 

She stepped outside for some air, beginning to pace on the sidewalk near the George’s driveway. The entire estate was gargantuan, and its size never failed to leave Cady speechless. There were probably parts of the house Regina herself had never seen, and Cady had to wonder if all of the possessions around her helped mold Regina into who she had grown up to be.

 

“You’re friends with Janis?”

 

Cady could feel her heart speed up in her chest, though she recognized the voice as not being any of the plastics. Regina’s mother stood outside of the closed front door, gaze intently fixated on Cady.

 

“Uh, well, no, who?”

 

The woman tilted her head slightly in confusion and walked closer to her, eyes seemingly a bit gentler this time. “Janis Sarkisian. You’re friends with her?”

 

“I,” Cady paused, wondering how Mrs. George could have possibly figured any of this out. She briefly remembered Regina mentioning that her mother monitors her social media accounts, but Cady and Janis had a strict rule to never post about each other anywhere. “Know her, yes.”

 

Mrs. George shook her head, a small smile teasing her lips. “I meant I saw you sitting in front of her house this past weekend. Regina asked me to come pick her up from the Halloween party, and I knew Jan’s house was around the neighborhood. Every now and then, I like to go check up on her and her mother.” She had the decency to look a bit sheepish, shoulders slightly rising in an unconscious method of self-defense. Probably a habit by now with the way her daughter speaks to her. “She and Regina practically grew up together. I still consider her a sort of third daughter, I suppose.” She visibly relaxed a bit at her own words, understanding that Cady wasn’t going to attack her for asking a question. “Do you happen to know how her mother’s doing? I haven’t seen her in a long time.”

 

It was a lot to unpack, and it only brought the picture of the driveway handprints to the forefront of her mind again. So the families had been close at one point, but Janis most likely didn’t recognize the car outside of her house as belonging to the Georges. From the sound of it, she must go by the house often, which makes Janis’s reaction a bit more understandable. A part of Cady wants to fill Janis in about this— to let her know that Mrs. George must miss her, but the woman’s way of showing it was a bit questionable.

 

“Yeah, she works most of the time, but I think she’s doing okay. I can give her a message if you’d like, Mrs. George?”

 

Her eyes widened noticeably before shaking her head. She smiled sadly before responding. “No, that’s alright, but I appreciate it.” She playfully smacked her arm, a fake sort of smile forcing itself onto her face. “And you know you girls can call me Sabrina.”

 

Cady simply smiles, a bit too uncomfortable with the conversation to keep talking. There’s tension now, even though Sabrina’s expression is trying to keep her at ease.

 

“Does Regina know you two are friends?”

 

Cady shakes her head.

 

Sabrina nods slowly, a small sigh leaving her body before she could stop it. “If you could keep a secret, I’d like to show you a little something.” The woman motioned Cady forward off the porch and onto a section of the driveway. “When she thinks I don’t see her, I sometimes catch Regina stopping here to stare at this. Kylie does too, but she’s always been a lot more open about missing Janis.”

 

Cody’s brows furrowed, and she’s met with a familiar handprint image right there in the George's driveway. It’s incredibly similar to the one in Janis’s, except this one has an even smaller hand imprint next to theirs with the name _Kylie_ sloppily scrawled next to it. There’s also an arrow pointing to Janis’s name with the words _my favorite_ written underneath it— the handwriting is identical to Regina’s on Janis’s driveway.

 

“We both had our driveways repaved the same day that summer, and we wanted the girls to be able to have something to look back on. It’s a pretty common thing in America if you didn’t know, honey.” Cady continues staring down at it, trying to understand everything the other woman was saying. Regina spent time looking at this? Why? “The girls tried telling me that Kylie wrote her own name, and I never exactly told them I knew she didn’t. She was only one at the time, but you can tell Janis imitated her.” Cady finally looked away and noticed Sabrina was completely relaxed now, an unforced smile on her face and her eyes brighter than she’d ever seen them.

 

“Thank you for showing me this. Do you- do you mind if I take a picture of it?”

 

“No, Cady, not at all.”

 

Just as she had three days before, Cady snapped a picture of the contents of the driveway. In her most recent photo album, both pictures lined up next to each other, and Cady couldn’t help but humorlessly chuckle at the irony.

 

“Well, I’m off to make some drinks, and I’ll be bringing them up to Regina’s room in a few minutes. Is there anything you’d like?”

 

Cady just shook her head.

 

She considered texting both pictures to Janis.

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on tumblr: kleksuh.tumblr.com


End file.
